Of Holidays and Book Stores
by fooboo24
Summary: And just like that, she was standing before him, and his relief at seeing her again was insurmountable. Shesman. Vato Falman/Sheska. Brotherhood.


**Author's Notes:** This is set in Brotherhood, but I included a small part from Episode 37 from the original. Also, this is for chalupahoopla~! Our OTP is flawlesskajsd

This is crap… but I still hope you like it! ;_;

~P~

_Of Holidays and Book Stores_

~P~

The sight of the book store ahead of him was nothing short of a saving grace to Vato Falman, who sighed in relief at the familiar building. It was a place that the Briggs soldier could easily lose himself in the hundreds of fantastic books that would soon surround him - and Lord knew he needed to get lost in something.

Most of Falman's visiting days in Central City were spent trying - and failing - to connect with his old coworkers. Lieutenant General Mustang and Colonel Hawkeye were off in their own little world, spending their holiday together as only the pair would. Breda had gone back South to his own family early so as to avoid the regular travelling rush of Christmas and Fuery was too busy trying to prepare his apartment into a festive winter wonderland - and so Falman was stuck with Havoc. And honestly, Vato hadn't a problem with Jean - he was one of his best friends, in fact - but hearing the Major go on and on about his newest attempt at a girlfriend was slowing creating a hole in Captain Falman's brain. It didn't help that the person of Havoc's affections was Sheska, either. Falman hadn't been particularly impressed to hear about his friend's date the day he arrived in town, but as much as he was annoyed by all of his blabbering, Vato could not find it in himself to tell Jean to shut up already - according to Havoc, his date with Sheska had gone splendidly, and to see his friend so excited about a girl instead of moping for once made the Captain happy. Even if it was a girl he sort of, kind of liked himself and his stomach twisted with slight jealousy every time Jean spoke her name.

And on top of all of this, Havoc had brought it upon himself to set up Falman on a date the night before - which had ended disastrously. It had been quite a while since the last time he had properly been on a date himself - two, maybe three years now? - and by the end of the night, the woman he had gone out with looked as bored as he felt the entire time.

Needless to say, Falman needed to escape, and he was doing so by returning to his favourite book store in Central City, somewhere he had once visited nearly daily when he had still worked under the command of Mustang. It was also a place, he remembered, that he had seen Sheska in every day, as well, tearing through book after book in the desperate search for new material. He had spent many an hour reading and talking to the mousy-haired girl, who gladly opened up to him. Havoc had mentioned that Sheska was exceptionally quiet - but Falman knew better. It just took some time and getting to know her, and when you did, she would burst into vivid explanations of her favourite stories and scenes from books. Her passion for reading was one of the things Vato most liked about her - it was something both shared.

With a sigh, Vato shook his head and ran a hand through his grey mop - he had to stop thinking about her as much as he was; she was unofficially seeing Havoc, or at least his friend claimed so, and he wasn't one to get into messes like that. But he couldn't help it - he hadn't seen her in a little over six months and the truth was, he missed her, but with drop of his stomach, he wondered if she even really remembered him. Trying to contact a person up in Briggs was a difficult task, so they hadn't spoken in a painfully long time, and with how scatter-brained Falman knew her to be, he wouldn't be surprised if she had mostly forgotten about him and their long talks of fictional lands and educational facts. A newfound sadness setting in his heart, Vato frowned and finally - finally - arrived at the door of the book store and instantly entered the building, allowing the cozy heat of the small shop to envelope him.

He shook a bit of the snow from his sleeves, careful to avoid the piles of books around him, and looked around the dimly-lit store. A smile easily made its way onto his chiselled features at the familiar sights, and for the time being, he forgot about his disappointment at the possibility of Sheska leaving him behind. It was just so nice to be there again - he felt like he belonged in that little store, surrounded by novel after novel, and nothing could replace the feeling that swelled in his chest. Too bad he was miles from any book store or library when he was at Briggs…

"Vato?"

Falman looked up at the scratchy sound of his name, only to lay his eyes on the owner of the shop - a pleasant, old man with a large, scruffy beard who always had his fingers curled around a book of his own. "Mister Eisen!" His smiled grew as he stepped closer. "It's good to see you."

"As to you, son," Eisen nodded at him and returned his grin, barely visible beneath the mess of hair on his face. "It's been too long! How's Briggs been treating you? Can't be too much fun at this time of the year, now can it?"

Falman shook his head and chuckled. It was too true - being at Briggs during spring and the other seasons, while unpleasant, was bearable, but at the peak of the winter like right then, it was one thing: a frozen hell, and he was glad to have escaped it for the time being. "It's awful. Double the snow, triple the cold." Eisen laughed at the answer, and Vato walked to the front counter, carefully manoeuvring around an unstable stack of books. The subject of his earlier thoughts entered his mind again - for this place reminded him of her, no matter where he looked - and directing his gaze to the floor, he was about to open his mouth to ask about her when a crash sounded to his left.

Instantly, both Eisen and he were turned to the source, blinking at it. Vato, concerned for whomever had been caught it in and the mess it must have created, was about to step forward and check the area when he heard some more noise and a few seconds later, an all-too-familiar female hopped out from behind a bookshelf and waved at Eisen apologetically. "S-Sorry about that! It's just… I finally found the one book I've been looking for for the longest time now and it was tucked under a few other ones… I was just trying to reach it-" She paused as she readjusted her crooked glasses and got a better look at the older man in front of her, joined by another person - and her eyes brightened at the sight of him. "F-Falman?"

Falman stared at Sheska for a few seconds before he recovered from his surprise, and he took a step closer to her. "Sheska!" he called at her happily. Relief was flooding in his system at seeing her again - finally, someone sane he could spend his time with! - and he wasn't doing a thing to hide it. "H-hi." He was painfully aware of how his voice shook as he addressed her, though.

"Hello," she bowed her head a bit at him, trying to hold back the smile that was tugging at her cheeks. Sheepishly tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear, she blinked. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" Eisen watched the awkward exchange amusedly, before shaking his head and turning into the back room of the shop, deciding to give the only two customers of his some privacy.

Falman gave her a crooked smile, stuffing a hand in his pocket and walking over to her. He noted her slight change in appearance - still as pretty as before, but with slightly longer and fluffier hair and the small smile planted on her features was not at all unwelcome. "Much too long, if you ask me. How have you been?"

Sheska looked up at him and beamed, and Falman was reminded of cute he found her. "Great, actually. I… I actually got a job here. Mister Eisen lets me read as much as I like and doesn't mind when I stray from my duties every once and a while… I'm much happier than I was when I was working at the library, that's for sure. And my mother's been doing better, too - a-and you know how that makes me feel."

Falman nodded sympathetically - he remembered a time a few months beforehand when she had nearly been in hysterics over her mother's physical health, which seemed to be deteriorating day by day. He was more than glad to hear that the older woman was doing okay, because it meant that Sheska was happy and honestly, seeing her smile was one of the nicest things the Captain had come across. He was about to respond - while noticing that she didn't mention her recent involvement with Havoc - when Sheska, who was biting her lip, spat out quickly, "Wouldyouliketojoinme? I-I'mjustreadingbackatthetablewh ereweusedtosit."

Vato peered down at her, surprised by her request. He was more than happy to accept it, but there was a hesitation in his voice as he spoke. "Are you sure? I don't want to impose, especially if you were in the middle of reading something…"

Sheska shook her head at him and then outstretched an arm to their old sitting spot. "Of course not - in fact, I wouldn't mind having my favourite discussion partner back again, even if only for a short bit."

At this, Falman thanked her for the invitation and instinctively slipped by her and towards the place she had mentioned - and as his eyes fell upon it, it became evident that nothing had changed and Vato was all the more content. Set around the dreadfully weathered wooden table were the same two chairs they always used to take up - old and worn, overly cushy and springy, but too familiar and comforting for either of them to ever want to get replaced. Books upon books littered the area - just as he remembered, just as he liked - and the light above the arrangement was still as dim as when he had first come across the store all those months ago. Sheska followed him and sat in her designated seat, directing her eyes back over to him. Settling in the chair and finding the book she had been reading, she clutched it to her chest. "My turn now. How have you been doing? Is Briggs as bad as they say it is? Have you been reading as much?"

Vato laughed, easily falling back into the routine of their once-daily conversations. Deciding to avoid the topic of his date the night previous, he answered the question about Briggs. "Once you get used the freezing temperatures and distance from society it's not too bad. The people up there really stick together - it's been… nice. But I do miss Central sometimes - you know, regular company. There's certainly no one up there that likes books as much as either of us do, though… so I've been a little bit lonely in that aspect, that's for sure. But I still read as much as I can." Leaning over the table, Falman reached for a book that caught his attention and began to flip through it casually. But as they sat there in comfortable silence, both equally prepared to read and start up another conversation again, the thought of Havoc hovered back into Falman's mind, and before he knew what was happening, he was trying to slip a mention of his friend in. "So, uh, did you have fun with Havoc on your date a few days ago?" He pretended not to notice her wincing from across from him, as though he had brought up a topic that she wanted to avoid. Because if Vato was being honest with himself, it was certainly one he wanted to keep away form himself, too, even though he was the one who had brought it up in the first place.

"O-oh," she said a few moments later, her voice shaky. "You heard about that?"

"He's been talking about it non-stop since I've arrived back in town," Falman set the book aside and peered over at her. "He's convinced that you two should start planning another one soon."

Sheska blinked at his words, before turning away and nervously playing with a loose strand of hair. She didn't want to offend either Havoc or Falman, but she didn't want the man in front of her to leave with the wrong impression of how she thought of his friend. "Um, in all honesty," she continued to twist and fiddle with her hair. "I-I don't think it's going to work out with Havoc, actually."

Falman's eyebrows raised to his hairline, but he couldn't help the wave of relief that washed over him. However, he tried to appear surprised by her words, and tilting his head to the side a bit, asked, "Oh. Why's that?" He already had an idea, though.

"Havoc's a nice guy, don't get me wrong," Sheska explained, her stomach twisting in knots as she shifted uncomfortably. She barely had the nerve to admit such a thing to the man she actually had her sights set upon, but he needed to know the truth - as did Jean. She had always been content and comfortable around Vato - his presence just relaxed her - but the second she realized she was falling for him, hard and fast, months beforehand, being with him and speaking with him, while still easier than talking to anyone else, became just that much more difficult for her. She would end up accidentally mixing her words up or avoiding saying anything altogether for fear of being incoherent - but over time she had learned to accept that despite how she felt about him, Vato was still Vato and that first and foremost, they were friends and at this realization, she could relax around him once again. But all this progress she had made flew out the window because of this one odd topic. Why couldn't they just discuss books like they used to!? "But we just didn't… click."

And this was the complete truth. Sheska had barely dated in her life - she didn't think of it as a necessity, and sure wasn't about to start to - and in the little experience she had, she had to admit she didn't have as splendid a time as Havoc seemed to be spouting off to his subordinate. She hadn't even been the one to ask him out - Jean had come up to her and asked her out of the blue, and for lack of hurting his feelings, she had agreed. For the most of the date, Jean had talked excessively about anything and everything, but of nothing that interested the young lady. He had none of the qualities of the man she actually liked - he wasn't quiet, he wasn't a critical thinker, he wasn't an avid reader. He was a lovely man, Sheska was sure, but he wasn't her lovely man.

Vato continued to stare at her, understanding by the way she kept avoiding his intent gaze that she didn't wish to elaborate. Apparently, Sheska didn't enjoy the date as much as Havoc had. And honestly, Falman felt bad. Yet another failed attempt at a relationship on his friend's part - life really wasn't fair to the Major. His relief at her rejection of his friend didn't make him feel any less terrible - he shouldn't be thinking of her romantically when one of his best friends still thought he had a chance with her!

"I… I guess I should tell him that. I don't want to lead him on… I really am sorry about all the trouble I'll have caused because of this… oh, I'm so inconsiderate… he's so nice and I've just been terrible to him!" Sheska began to blabber mindlessly to herself, overcome with an excessive amount of guilt at her actions. Vato frowned, and leaning over, placed his hand over her and squeezed it firmly.

"Hey, now," he said softly. "Calm down, freaking out won't do you any good. And Havoc'll understand - sure, he'll be disappointed at first, but it's Havoc! He'll bounce back in a second." He offered her a smile at this, because what he spoke was true. Jean would mope, of course, but knowing the Major he would perk back up and go off and find another woman to date - and hopefully stay in a relationship with.

Sheska couldn't calm down, though, despite his gentle tone - because he was holding her hand and she'd never held hands with a guy before! Her face began to heat up to match her embarrassment, turning a rosy shade as she yanked her trembling hand away and when she briefly caught the look he was giving her, she immediately cursed her innate awkwardness around men. She was hopeless! Realizing what he had been doing, Falman, too, sat back quickly and looked away. Rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, a moment the pair had shared nearly a year earlier entered his mind, and directing a lopsided smile her way, he said, "I bet he won't be able to find someone as cute, smart, and funny as you, though." It became clear to him just how cheesy the line had been and he could already feel the humiliation festering within him in the form of his increasingly quickening heartbeat - maybe he'd been reading too many romance novels…

Sheska's green eyes were wide and she blinked at him, her cheeks growing pinker as the comment - no, the flirtation! - set in. She clearly recalled the odd little moment they had experienced when the sentence had first been uttered, but to hear it now, in such a starkly different context left her flustered but flattered. Feeling her chest swell and her face continue to blush - was this how the girls in the hundreds of books she had read felt? - she turned away and smiled. A few beats passed before she turned to him again, pushing the book in her hands over to him. "You should read this, you know. It's very good. I was just rereading it because I love it so much but… no, no, you should read it. I already know it word for word, so I don't need to read it again."

Falman's grin grew - he knew that she was trying to cover her embarrassment with her talkativeness, and frankly, he found it adorable. Reaching over and taking it, he nodded. "Thank you." At this, Sheska scrambled for another book at her side and instantly stuck her nose in it, trying futilely to hide what she was feeling. Falman chuckled at her, before opening the book she had recommended to him and beginning to read himself, and before either of knew it, they were engrossed in their respective books, so easily placed back in the positions of their previous routine together. The pair would exchange soft looks and warm smiles every few chapters, and before either of them knew it, the sky outside was dimming to give way to the early evening of winter. It was only when Sheska noticed this that she squeaked out from behind her book, "I m-missed you, you know…"

Falman froze before looking up at her and smiling. "I missed you, too." His heart was thumping away in his chest, and despite the less-than-fortunate situation with Havoc, he couldn't help himself when the words slipped from his mouth, "Sheska? I… don't know if you'd be interested but, uh, after this whole thing is sorted out with Havoc, would you like to… go get a coffee with me or something?" In that moment, Vato became painfully aware, once again, of his lack of dating skills and hoped that his asking her wasn't too out of place or awkward for her.

Sheska peeked out from behind her book - w-was he asking her out? Her mind was going haywire as she tried to formulate an answer, even though her outward appearance was completely neutral, shocked. The fact that he had asked her confirmed to her that, yes, the man that she had liked for quite some time liked her right back and- "I-I would love to," she stuttered out, her hand automatically flying from the corner of the book's page to fiddle with her hair. And while a part of her truly felt bad for dropping from Havoc so suddenly, the excitement that filled her in that moment easily overcame her guilt. "U-uh, yeah. Definitely!"

Falman nodded at her and smiled the most brilliant grin he had displayed in months, feeling his own blush climb up his neck and ears. "Great." And at this, he gave her one last look before his eyes fell down to his book again, searching for the beginning of the next sentence he was going to start. He managed to barely resist the urge to reach over and take her hand again, instead shaking his head a bit when he heard a shaky breath exit her mouth from behind her book. Finding his spot again, one final thought invaded his mind before he dove into reading again - maybe coming back to Central for his holiday wasn't an entirely useless venture, after all.


End file.
